The information supplied on this web site is general in nature and should not be relied upon to make legal decisions. Interacting with e-mail, forms, or online forums on this web site does not constitute the creation of an attorney/client relationship. This web site is an advertisement for legal services. The examples of client cases and results discussed on this web site are not a guarantee of your outcome if we represent you in a particular case.

We Have Assisted in the Startup of Some of the Most Successful E-Commerce and Electronic Entertainment Companies in the World

Ira P. RothkenIn addition to our robust litigation practice as evidenced in our "News" section below we assist electronic entertainment, high technology, and e-commerce companies in their business and legal transactions. For example, since the inception of the "commercialized" internet in the mid 1990s, we have represented some of the largest and most successful web sites in the world on a huge range of matters from startup issues to risk reduction strategies to e-commerce policies and agreements. In many instances we were called upon to handle issues where there was no clear precedent and thus we had to innovate a solution.

We have also helped start numerous successful electronic entertainment and videogame companies including Nihilistic Software, Pandemic Games, Telltale, and Arenanet. Ira P. Rothken, a member of IGDA, has spoken multiple times on how to start a videogame development company at the Computer Game Developers Conference (CGDC). Here is a sample of videogame development transactions in which we assisted our clients:

News

The well known management consulting firm of Booz & Co. published a research report today that tends to demonstrate that Copyright centric regulations like SOPA/PROTECT IP have a chilling effect on angel and venture capital investment in high technology startups.

More than 70% of angel investors reported they would be deterred from investing in high technology companies if anti-piracy regulations against “user uploaded” websites were increased.

The Rothken Law Firm did assist Booz in the study as indicated in the report.

A Forbes contributor writes that Sony has attempted to bind consumers to an arbitration clause and a class action waiver in revised Terms of Use that purports to cover the Playstation Network.

According to the Forbes story:

"It’s a slap in the face to consumers already weary of the company’s practices, as they’re essentially saying they could have another privacy breaching screw-up like the hack, and you wouldn’t have recourse against them in the form of a class action lawsuit. There’s currently a lawsuit filed against Sony for the hacking breach by the Rothken law firm on behalf of the 77 million customers affected, but this does not fall under these new terms of service, and will be going forward."

Citigroup said that it suffered a security breach in the bank's network impacting the data of about 200,000 credit-card holders in North America. Allegedly the bank waited more than a month before making the full extent of the breach public, drawing criticism from Regulators and lawyers.

Ira Rothken, a San Francisco-based attorney who represents plaintiffs in hacking cases, said his firm is investigating whether the information compromised in the Citi breach has led to any secondary intrusions against impacted customers.

"If a bank can't keep data secure, it's going to have a chilling effect not only on the banking industry, but on ecommerce," Rothken said.

Last week the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in the Isohunt copyright appeal against the major motion picture studios. The main issue on appeal is whether or not Isohunt, a bit-torrent search engine, could be held secondarily liable for copyright infringement under an inducement theory without proof of causation. You can listen to the oral argument below. Ira P. Rothken argued on behalf of Isohunt.

In the meantime we are continuing our investigation. To assist us in this process, you may (but are not required to) fill out the intake form on our Law Firm website. This would expedite our ability to compile contacts and prepare communications in an efficient manner. Please indicate “Sony Class Action” in the subject line, then use the text box for describing your experience, including, but not limited to, whether you have suffered any fraudulent use of your credit information you attribute to the Sony data breach, and stating any specific questions you may have. Do not include sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and security questions in your communications with us - we will never ask you for such information. You will also find links to news articles regarding the case on this page including below.

There is nothing that you need to do at present to be involved with this litigation. In the event we reach a settlement with Sony or obtain a judgment on behalf of the Class, there will be a notification process supervised by the Court, at which time all potential Class members will have the opportunity to consider the terms of the settlement or judgment and decide whether he or she wishes to be included or excluded or objects to the settlement.

Please take whatever steps you deem necessary and appropriate to protect your own personal and financial information and to guard against identity theft. Some recommendations from PC WORLDinclude:

1.Be wary of people calling or e-mailing you asking for extra information such as your Social Security number or other personal information

2.Monitor your credit card for suspicious activity or consider canceling it and getting a new one

3.Review your online passwords to see whether you are using the same password and login ID across multiple accounts. If, for example, your PSN and e-mail logins are the same, change your e-mail address password immediately. Of course, for an extra layer of protection, you may consider changing your security questions and challenge responses on other sites.

Ira P. Rothken, founder of the Rothken Law Firm, has written for the Home Office Computing/Small Business Computing Magazine "Legal Matters" Column. Mr. Rothken has written numerous articles on protecting small businesses and the laws of "e-commerce." Mr. Rothken has appeared as a guest legal expert on television and radio including CNNfn (fax/e-mail marketing issues), CNN (internet privacy), KQED radio (computer keyboard injuries), FOX (internet gambling), NBC (internet copyright), CBS (internet privacy), CNET radio (internet copyright), KTVU Silicon Valley Business Report (software license agreements), TechTV (internet law), and Court TV (internet gambling issues and copyright litigation), and has been quoted in numerous publications including legal newsletters, newspapers (Wall Street Journal, NY Times, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, Newsday), magazines, and law review articles. In addition, Mr. Rothken has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars on internet & e-commerce law including the IAEM Convention, the Computer Game Developers Conference (CGDC), the Annual Meeting of the Free Speech Coalition, the Recorder Legal Newspaper Roundtable, the Practicing Law Institute in San Francisco, California, the Sedona Conference, and the Privacy and American Business Conference in Washington, DC.